Our children and youth need to know more about the benefits of healthy marriages and families. We want to give them opportunities to participate in this celebration of family that encourages marriage.

The Black culture, unfortunately, lacks adequate representation of healthy marriage. Studies continue to show that the best familial environment for raising children is one with married biological parents or—at the very least, a married, two-parent household. Children raised in a married, two-parent household consistently excel beyond those children without this same benefit. Many children have a desire to be a part of a healthy family structure with both a mother and a father.

In partnership with the Black McDonald's Operators Association (BMOA) of Chicagoland, and the Kankakee Area McDonald's Corporation, we have planned contests geared toward helping our children and youth learn more about the wonderful benefits marriage offers. Contest entry period is Wednesday, February 27 through Sunday, March 10, 2013. Click Here for complete contest rules.

All contest entries (excluding winners of contests noted above) will be randomly entered into a drawing to receive the following single prize package:

• Complimentary family dinner at a participating Kankakee Area McDonald’s restaurant

• A family pack to the McDonalds All-American Basketball game on Wednesday, April 3, 2013, 6 p.m., at the United Center, Chicago.

How marriage benefits children

Marriage ensures that children have access to a mother and a father. Mothers and fathers have unique and complementary roles in children's development.

For example, children's emotional bond with their mothers helps them develop their conscience, capacities for both intimacy and empathy, and a sense of self-worth. One study found that adults who perceived their mothers as available and devoted to them in childhood were less likely to suffer from depression and low self-esteem. As adults, they are also more likely to be resilient in dealing with life events.

Children with involved fathers have better emotional health, do better academically and attain higher job status as adults. Also, fathers teach their children empathy, as well as assertiveness and independence. But most importantly, fathers are role models for both their sons and daughters. Fathers teach their sons how to be a man, how to take on male responsibilities and how to relate to women. Girls learn from their fathers that they are lovable, to appreciate their femininity and how to relate to men.

Source: The Benefits of Marriage. Family Research Council, http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=IS05B01